Wendell Harris
No. 26 | |
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Position: | Baton Rouge |
College: | LSU |
NFL draft: | 1962 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9 |
AFL draft: | 1962 / Round: 7 / Pick: 51 |
Career history | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Player stats at PFR |
Wendell Preston Harris, Jr. (October 2, 1940 – January 7, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) in the 1960s. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, guiding the Tigers to the 1961 Southeastern Conference championship and an Orange Bowl victory over Colorado.
Harris was selected by the
Sharing the field in 1963 with such players as Johnny Unitas, and now coached by Don Shula, Harris returned 8 kicks for 198 yards, including a 41-yard run. His yards per return, 24.8, were eclipsed only by John Mackey's.
As Shula built the team, pushing it to 1st in the NFL West in 1964, Harris, #26, picked up 17 kicks and carried them for 214 yards, including a run of 39 yards. He also intercepted a ball for a 20-yard run.
In 1966 Harris moved to the New York Giants, a season of misery coached by Allie Sherman that left the Giants 8th in their division. Harris spent that longest season as a long-snapper for punters, with a total annual yardage of 9 for the year.
Harris died on January 7, 2024, at the age of 83.[2]
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